All My Heart
by SixWS
Summary: "Every year that goes by, a year older we are. You'll still be beautiful then, bless your beautiful heart." Eclare One-Shot


**WAHHHHH? She's uploading a story? **

**Yes. This is solely a one-shot.**

**I will address my Bless Roads fic at the end of the story. Pleas enjoy. This was originally supposed to be uploaded on Christmas but you know…**

**Title inspired by Sleeping With Sirens song called All My Heart.**

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><p><strong>All My Heart<strong>

Sister winter had blown her gentle kiss, coating the streets, sidewalks, roof tops, lamp posts and the entire city with her snowy glory. Christmas décors fell upon the small town, white lights gleaming around lamp posts, and almost every little house in town had some kind of holiday piece representing the spirit and art of the season.

The plush snow absorbed any noise, muting the streets. Only a distinct subtle sound of sheepskin boots pushed deep through the snow with each step, indicating small tracks to follow.

Clare was only a few minutes away from the grocery store and she was beginning to grow a tad bit impatient. The chilly air had turned her pale cheeks a mild shade of pink and she could barely feel her nose. It was the crook of dusk and Helen, her mother, had sent Clare out for last minute groceries the day before Christmas since everything would be closed for the holidays.

The automatic doors separated and Clare felt a relief of warmth as she entered the store, wiping her boots on the rug provided. She pulled out her clad mitten hands that were buried in her coat and slid off her lavender mittens to pick up a basket from the rack. She began toward the refrigerator aisle, humming along to the classic holiday music that lowly played through the speakers. The store was fairly empty so she was able to navigate efficiently and pick up two large turkeys's, flour, milk, eggs, three cartons of eggnog, cookie mix, and five different flavored pies.

Clare's mother had been all over the place about this family Christmas dinner for weeks and wanted to make sure that there was enough food and decorations, and everything just _had_ to be perfect.

Ever since Helen and Glen married, the family gatherings became much more frequent and annoying. Clare used to look forward to these when Randall was still in the picture and Darcy was still around. Now, it just wasn't the same, especially since her step-brother just so happened to be her ex-boyfriend and somehow, this little piece of information got around to practically all of the family members. Talk about awkward.

She made small talk with a sweet old lady who was waiting behind her at the cash register as she paid for her groceries. She slid her mittens back, picked up the three grocery bags and wished the kind lady a merry Christmas before leaving.

Clare absolutely adored the winter holidays. To her it was a time of love and family. The time to appreciate everything you had and end the year closer to the one's you love. This year wasn't the same feeling. She still appreciated everything she still had, but she was not as excited as she used to be. Maybe the feeling was redundant and wore off or, all of the unexpected changes throughout the year have thrown her usual nature out of balance.

Clare decided to stop by The Dot, which was surprisingly still open considering it was just a few minutes past six o'clock on Christmas Eve. She struggled a little opening the door but managed. She dropped her groceries on a nearby empty table and made her way over to the counter.

"One small hot cocoa please." Clare smiled to the young man behind the counter, rubbing her hands together. She looked around the small deserted café to keep herself occupied. She took a glance at her bag of groceries and wondered how the hell she was going to carry those, along with her hot chocolate. She decided she'd have her beverage at The Dot instead and then she'd leave.

The young man came back with her hot cocoa, and she handed him two dollars and a little tip for him.

"Thanks." His bored expression disappeared. "Best customer all day."

"No problem." She replied, carefully taking a sip of her hot chocolate. "Hey, when do you guys close? Everything's usually closed by this time,"

The boy threw a red rag he had in his hand over his shoulder. "We were supposed to close at five, but my boss decided to leave early and have me close." He rolled his eyes. "So, I guess I'm closing now." He shrugged.

Clare mentally cursed, now having no other choice but to carry everything back home. She had no idea how she was going to be able to keep all of her items stable while she walked home. She nodded curtly and smiled towards the young man, and retreated to pick up her groceries. She had some trouble balancing everything, but abled herself.

"Have a good night." She said as she pushed open the door.

"You too." She heard him say as the glass door closed.

Clare huffed out a white ball of air when she landed in the outdoors and began walking. She wondered if she should call a cab or maybe even Jake. A cab would take too long, and being home alone with Jake was already awkward enough and a silent ride home wouldn't be any better even if it was quick.

She decided to just suck it up and continue to venture on foot. The walk was only about ten minutes away anyways. After a few minutes, her arms were already beginning to grow tired. She eventually gave up and ended up dropping two bags, the groceries scattering everywhere.

"Great!" She exasperated impatiently, flailing her arms.

Clare groaned and kneeled over to collect all of the groceries spilled over. She couldn't think of anything more unfortunate to happen.

"Clare?"

She snapped her head up quickly to the sound of her name being called. She didn't even realize she had dropped everything right behind the black bench that started everything. There, Eli sat, wrapped in a big black coat, turned looking down at the young girl kneeled down.

"Need some help?" He didn't even let her answer the question and was already kneeled over to help his friend. He dusted most of the snow off of the groceries and put them inside of the bags. They both stood up, and Eli picked up both of the dropped bags.

"I'll take those." Clare reached out for the bags in Eli's hands.

"Non-sense." Eli shook his head. "Are you headed home?"

Clare nodded her head.

"I'll walk with you." He offered ever so kindly.

"No, Eli, you've helped enough. Thank yo-"

"Let me. I don't mind." He insisted with a smirk.

Clare couldn't reject his offer and accepted. She was actually kind of glad that Eli was the one to find her…again. The last time he found her was over the summer when she ran off into the woods after seeing her best friend, ehem, ex best friend and her ex boy-friend kissing.

As they walked, she wondered what Eli was doing out at this time. She would've expected Eli to be with his family tonight. She especially wondered what he was doing at _**the**_ bench. She opened her mouth, but before she could even speak, Eli beat her to the punch.

"Your family must really love pie." He chuckled, attempting to lighten the mood.

It was honestly a breather for Clare. She hasn't spoken to him since they went on winter vacation, but she kind of missed his sense of humor. They've been piecing their friendship back together and it seemed to be going well. Most of the time Adam was around as a support buddy, but things were smooth and things were going back to normal in the friendship department between them.

"It's better than that cake Glen burned the other day." She giggled.

"Ouch. A man who can't bake? Your mom sure knows how to pick em'." Eli's eyes widened and quickly apologized. "I'm sorry I didn't mean to say that."

"It's fine Eli. Don't worry about it." She reassured him. "It's kinda true though." She bumped him lightly.

Eli smiled faintly in return, keeping his eyes ahead of him. The air fell a little tense, and Clare wanted to loosen the vibe.

"Why aren't you with your family tonight?" Clare asked curiously, taking a sip of her hot chocolate, while balancing the third bag in her other hand.

"Cece was taking forever to make dinner since Bullfrog was all over her in the kitchen, so I decided to take a little walk." Eli grimaced in disgust.

Clare could imagine how Eli felt. She remembered those days when they were still together. They would be in Eli's still messy room, helping him throw out trash and his parents weren't too discreet about their sex life, especially since they would hear them through the pretty thick walls. She laughed at the thought.

"And you just so happen to end up at our bench?" She teased.

"Our bench?" Eli lifted his eyebrow.

Clare hadn't even realized what she said.

"I didn't know it was still ours." He added.

Clare thought about it for a moment. She still thought about the bench, and the special significance behind the public furniture. Maybe she still considered it theirs. Why else would that rusty old bench matter?

"It always has been hasn't it? You helped me with my assignment." Clare said, visually remembering how witty she was when he told her to write about something that pissed her off.

"Don't forget public embarrassment." He added, reminiscing about the simpler times when Clare, so timid, screamed at the top of her lungs. That was when Eli really took interest in her.

"Right. How could I ever forget?" Her voice dripped with sarcasm as she rolled her eyes.

"You know what else I'll never forget? The Romeo and Juliet project." Eli smirked.

Clare could never forget that either.

"Gosh, that was so cheesy." Clare mentally slapped her forehead, remembering the kiss and how smitten she was at the time.

"We were both really excited. I don't think I've ever looked forward to kissing anyone the way I did with you."

There he goes again. Clare didn't know how to respond when Eli would sound so sweet and romantic without even trying. The things Clare was feeling at the moment felt familiar yet old, but it wasn't old enough. It still reached a weak spot in her heart.

"We're here." Eli announced as they walked up the front stairs of Clare's house.

Clare couldn't reach in her pocket to get her keys so she simply knocked on the door a few times until Jake answered the door, wearing a long sleeved white thermal and brown pajama pants with lumber on it. Eli wanted to make a joke, but refrained, knowing how thin their relationship was. Eli still wasn't, nor ever will be fond of Jake Martin.

"Glad you're back." Jake smiled sadly. "We began to worry after an hour."

"I would've taken longer if it weren't for Eli here." She said handing Jake the groceries she had in her hand. Jake glanced at Eli a little disapprovingly.

"These are for you." Eli said, also piling more groceries on Jake. He patted the brown paper bags for a little mock fun.

"Thanks…" Jake mumbled. "Clare, are you coming in?" He asked when he saw that Clare made no attempt to go inside the house.

"In a second." She replied a little agitated.

Ever since their un-mutual break up, their relationship as step-siblings hasn't been the best. They wouldn't argue though since they barely ever spoke a word to each other. And if they ever did, one of them would always become awkward or annoyed. Clare was usually the one to become easily annoyed.

Jake nodded and disappeared from the doorway. Clare spun around on her heels, letting out a heavy breath that was quite visible as she spoke.

"I guess the adventure ends here." Eli chuckled, slight disappointment surfaced in his laughter.

"I guess so." Clare replied hesitant.

Eli turned slowly, ready to leave.

"Wait!" Clare stopped him.

Eli spun around and saw Clare's arm extended with her hot chocolate in hand.

"Thanks…" Eli lifted a brow, reluctantly grabbing the foam cup.

"For the cold walk home…It'll keep you a little warm." Her big blue eyes reflected the nervousness in her tone and she wished that a black hole just sucked her body into the depths of space.

"How considerate." Eli amusedly looked down at the cup before looking back at Clare. "Have a good night."

He initiated his leave again, but once again, was brought to a halt by Clare's voice.

"Eli!"

"Yes Clare." Eli turned around chuckling, this time a little too close to Clare's face. He almost choked in his own throat looking back into the baby blue eyes that will always throw him in a trance.

"Tomorrow…if you're not too busy, you should come by. We're having a family Christmas party."

Eli was taken aback by the invitation and had to make sure he wasn't hearing things. He hasn't been in her house in a long time and wasn't ever expecting to be there again; especially for such an eventful occasion.

"I'd love to but, I don't think that'd be a good idea."

Eli knew Helen was never keen to her daughter being with such corruption as him. And Jake, he was just another nuisance thrown into the mix. Then again, Eli was much more capable of handling situations and controlling his emotions since he's been getting help. A little socializing would really test out the waters and his progress.

"It'll be fine. I promise." Clare assured with the cutest, hopeful smile plastered on her face. Eli couldn't say no to that.

"Okay." He said.

Clare hopped up and down, throwing her arms around Eli and he slowly put his arms around her waist. She was exceptionally glad that he accepted to come over. She knew that she would be bored out of her mind tomorrow and put into very uncomfortable situations. With Eli there, she knows that she would be able to avoid that. And maybe, a little part of her just wanted to spend some time with him on a special day.

She drew back from the hug, flashing Eli a smile that he returned with his own crooked smirk.

"Can I call you later tonight…" Eli asked a little shaky. "You know, to make sure I dress appropriately and get your approval." He added for a cover up to not sound so desperate.

"Of course." She said. She wouldn't mind being on the phone with Eli. It would be like old times.

"Great. Talk to you later." He said calmly, but his insides were betraying him. Internally, he was ecstatic, and his heart was doing all sorts of funny things with his emotions. But he felt good about these emotions.

Eli left, and Clare went inside of her house. She pulled off her coat and put it on the coat rack near the door way, as well as the scarf around her neck. She slid off her sheepskin boots and left them by the door mat.

"Clare honey, is that you?" Helen called out.

Clare sighed, walking through the overly decorated living room and into the kitchen to see what her mother could possibly want. Helen most likely just needed some help in the kitchen since the two men in the house are practically useless in that area.

"Yeah." Clare entered the kitchen.

To her surprise, Glen was seasoning one of the turkeys.

"Jake told us you were with Eli?" She turned around placing a bowl next to Glen, while Jake avoided any kind of eye contact with Clare.

"He walked with me and helped me carry _your_ groceries." Clare replied, trying not to sound accusing.

"I just want to make sure you're not getting yourself into any more trouble. You know how he is."

Clare's mouth fell slightly ajar. She didn't really understand what her mom meant by that, but she wasn't too fond with the tone her mom was using. Eli was never trouble. He was troubled, but never actual trouble.

"Yeah mom, I do know how he is since he's _my _friend." Clare retorted.

Jake cleared his throat, sensing that the direction this was going in wasn't going to be pretty. Whether he told her mom she was with Eli was to intentionally cause distress or not, Jake knew the news would shake things up. Clare decided to just drop it, and moved on.

"Has Darcy or Dad called?"

A few weeks ago Clare sent invitations, via mail, to her sister Darcy and her father asking them to come down for the Christmas party. She thought it would be a good idea, especially since some of her father's sides of the family were still invited.

"No. I don't think we've gotten any calls from them." Helen answered. Clare detected something offish laced in her mother's response, but thought nothing of it.

She was a little disappointed, but hoped that they would just show up by surprise. She descended from the kitchen and up the stairs to her room. That's where Clare spent most of her days lately. She didn't really like spending time with her new family. She was happy for her mother, she really was, but she was still adjusting to the change.

She walked to look at herself in the mirror, feeling a little weightless now that she was in her room. She stared at her reflection for a few moments before she reached behind her neck and unclasped the delicate cross necklace dangling around her neck. As she placed the jewelry in her pink jewelry box, the phone in the pocket of her long sweater began to vibrate.

She reached for it and picked it up. "Hello." She chimed, turning around and leaning her back against the dresser.

"Hey. " Eli's deep voice replied.

"That was quick. Did you sprint home?" Clare joked.

"I should join the Olympics shouldn't I?" He retorted.

"Touché" She laughed. "So, did you pick out an outfit? Oh god I feel like I'm talking to an old girlfriend." Clare smacked her forehead lightly.

Eli laughed. "I did." She heard some shuffling in the background before he spoke again. "And I feel the same way." He sounded a little sad.

Clare felt her heart skip a beat for a second and walked over to her bed. She was about to reply until she heard a knock on the door.

"Just a second Eli." She moved the phone away from her lips. "Who is it?" Clare shouted.

"It's Jake,"

"What do you want?"

He cracked the door open and poked his head in. "Dinner's ready."

"I'm not hungry."

Jake sighed and walked in, shutting the door behind him. "Listen I know after we…you know..." He gave up and got to the point. "You don't have to act this way."

"Jake, not now please. I'm on the phone." She swatted her hand away motioning him to leave.

"Who are you the phone with?" He asked suspiciously.

Clare rolled her eyes. "With Eli, why?" She batted her eyelashes.

He sighed again, this time much more audible. "Nothing. I'll tell Helen to put aside a plate for you."

He finally left the room and Clare got up to lock her door.

"Do you want me to call back later?" Eli asked.

She walked back and hopped onto her bed, back first. "No. Jake and I are always like this now since we broke up…" She trailed off, disgusted with the subject.

Eli was silent for quite a while.

"…Do you mind me asking what happened?"

Clare swallowed hard. She knew she had to face this question one day, but not now. It bothered her so much and she just wished none of it ever happened.

"It's pretty embarrassing."

"I've probably heard worse." He challenged.

Clare gave in with a shaky breath. "I…I can't. Maybe tomorrow?"

She couldn't.

"It's fine. I won't force you. Whenever you want to tell me, I'm all ears." Eli said. He didn't want to pressure her.

"You're the best." Clare smiled.

"Oh, I know." He agreed.

Clare rolled her eyes, and shook her head. He was always so arrogant, but not in a way that made her cringe. He was _humorously_ arrogant.

"About that outfit…" Clare arched an eyebrow, twiddling her hair between her fingers.

"You just want to picture how sexy I'll look tomorrow."

They stood up on the phone laughing and subtly flirting and reminiscing about old times. It was refreshing for the both of them. How easily they both replenished each other's moods was incredible. That is, until Clare began dozing off around one in the morning. Eli attempted to keep her up but her body gave in and he eventually, softly wished her sweet dreams and hung up.

The next morning, Clare was up bright and early and she couldn't remember if she fell asleep on Eli or if they properly hung up the phone. She smiled at the thought of what she did remember which was most of their mindless chatter all night.

She got out of bed and put her cellphone to charge since she left it uncharged all night. She trailed off into the bathroom, where she bumped into Jake. They both brushed their teeth in the bathroom, awkward silence consuming the small room. Clare was relieved when she finally rinsed her mouth and ran out of the bathroom.

It was already one in the afternoon and she was now downstairs helping her mom finish preparing for the party. The guests would be arriving in an hour and her mom was freaking out. Glen told Helen to slow down and assured her that everything was perfect. Clare actually agreed. Everything was perfect.

The delicious aroma of her mother's home cooked meal was nose filling, the decorations were just right, the music was a lovely touch and the Christmas tree in the living room glowed wonderfully with tons of presents surrounding it.

"Mom, he's right. You've worked hard enough." Clare put her arms around her mother. "Go get ready. I'll finish cleaning up."

"I'll check on the turkeys." Glen added.

Helen nodded wearily and pecked Clare's forehead before leaving the kitchen.

Clare turned and walked towards the sink. She slid both of her sleeves up, and grabbed a yellow sponge. In about half an hour, she was able to get through what seemed like mounds of dishes in no time. Even her fingers became pruned.

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><p>Clare was applying the final touches of light make-up to her porcelain skin. Her auburn, shoulder length hair was stretched and straightened leaving a silky gleam to it. Her body was adorned in a crimson red wrap sweater dress, with a cross over neckline along with black transparent stockings and matching red sheepskin boots. A sparkling silver cross laid loosely around her soft neck and large corresponding diamond earrings in her ears.<p>

After sprinkling on sweet scented perfume, she shut the light off in her room and walked downstairs. While she was getting ready, the doorbell chimed a few times signaling that guests had already arrived and she was anxious to see if anyone she was looking forward to seeing had arrived.

Downstairs was filled with more people than she had imagined. Toddlers and children were running around the place and as usual, the adults were casually mingling with wine glasses in their hands or snooping around the delectables. She noticed more presents were dropped under the Christmas tree too and identified a few that had her name on them.

Her attention was suddenly reverted when she spotted her mother joyously waving at her.

"Oh, look at Clare over there." Helen beamed. "Honey, come here! Say hello to Mark, Glen's brother."

A tall strapping man flashed Clare a smile. He resembled Glen, only without all of the facial hair.

"Hi." Clare forced a smile, approaching them

"Jake's told me a lot about you." He said casually.

"I'm sure he has." She replied condescendingly.

"Clare!" Helen whispered, scolding her daughter's manners.

Clare cited a quick fake apology and her mother continued going around, introducing Clare. She recognized many people from the wedding but never actually came around to learn their names. However, she did greet the people she did know, which were her grandparents and her cousins.

Clare sat, slouching on the love seat in the living room. She had gone around for about thirty minutes with trays offering homemade cookies to the guests. Eventually she got bored, and left the serving to Jake.

The doorbell rang and Clare slowly got up to answer it.

"Imogen?" Clare questioned in bewilderment when she swung open the door.

"Hello, Clare Edwards." She replied in that annoying high pitched tone that bugged Clare. "What an unexpected surprise." Imogen with a phony cunning smirk eyed Clare up and down snidely.

Imogen was being a conniving liar. She knew very well that she was in front of Clare's house. The quirky girl was dressed in some bizarre outfit that didn't really bother nor amuse Clare. What did bother her was that the girl whom she tried to help and then turned on her was standing in front of her house.

"Likewise." Clare retorted, her attitude suddenly sly. "What are you doing here anyways?" She asked a little more rudely than her previous comment.

Imogen was just about to open her mouth.

"You made it!" Jake yelped, appearing behind Clare, who found this incident slightly improbable.

Clare moved out the way, her body language giving away her disgust.

"Of course." She mumbled sarcastically. Of course Jake would be the one to invite her.

She walked back to her position on the couch and sat down, watching Imogen and Jake walk by. Clare wasn't jealous. She was far from jealous. She just couldn't understand how that happened or how that would even work. _Why_ that would even work.

The doorbell chimed again and Clare groaned in aggravation.

"I wouldn't be surprised if Jake decided to invite Alli too." She pouted inarticulately.

Any kind of vexation and disinterest was no longer present when it was Eli who she met herself with at the door. She impulsively fiddled with her hair and smoothed her hand over her waist in attempt to 'fix' herself, although she knew she probably didn't look bad at all.

He stuck out his hands which had a bowl with plastic wrapped around it.

"What's that?" Clare asked.

"Cece's red velvet cupcakes; she made a batch just for you and your mother. They're festively decorated." He smiled.

"She didn't have to." Clare said thinking that the gesture was incredibly sweet. "Come in. The party's already started." She stepped to the side, letting him in.

She took the bowl out of his grip so that he could take off his coat and scarf. Clare was very impressed and astonished with his choice of clothing. He had on a black sweater vest, a grey long sleeve button down underneath. His belt held up his semi-formal skinny jeans, and his hair was flipped to the side neatly unlike his usual messy dis-shelved hair.

"Eli…" The discontent sound of Helen's voice distracted Clare from her daze. "I wasn't weren't expecting you."

"I invited him." Clare intervened quickly and her mother gave her a displeased look. "He even brought dessert, red velvet cupcakes." She gloated, passing the bowl to her mother.

"That was very nice of you Eli." Helen thanked impressively. "Clare can you help me out in the kitchen for a second?" She asked walking away.

Clare turned to Eli before leaving. "This will just take a second. Make yourself at home and help yourself to anything." She put her hand on his shoulder. "And thank you so much for coming. You look handsome." She said trying to hide the large grin on her face.

She disappeared into the kitchen to meet with her mother. Clare had a good idea of what she was expecting to hear from her mother. She knew she didn't need any help.

"Clare Diana Edwards, would you mind explaining to me why that young man, who isn't family, is here? Didn't he go crazy and crashed a car for you? I thought you two were just friends." She tapped her heels on the ground with her hands on her hips like a typical unhappy mother.

Clare scoffed. "Whoa, and it's _totally_ okay for Jake to bring home the crazy girl?"

"That's different."

"How?"

"She hasn't crashed a hearse into a wall!"

"Well I don't doubt that she's far from it." Clare retorted sardonically. "And Eli and I are only friends. I invited him because I wanted to be nice."

"Well then you could've been nice and bought him a gift Clare. You know I don't approve of you being around him anymore."

"So? You don't know what goes on any more. You're too busy with your new husband to even pay attention to your own daughter anymore. Now you're going to deprive me of a social life?"

Her mother looked at her young daughter in shock."…Clare, watch your tone of voice with me."

Clare rolled her eyes and was quiet for a moment. "I'm sorry." She apologized bitterly. She bit her tongue back, restraining from making a huge scene in front of the guests and just stormed out of the kitchen brushing past Eli and up the stairs.

Clare shut herself in the bathroom and exhaled the heavy ball of rough air she held in her lungs. She's been a little too angry with her mother lately and usually, but quietly takes time to calm herself down whenever they get into a minor altercation. She's thought of putting herself in her mother's shoes, trying not to seem selfish and actually sort of understand where her mother was coming from. But even then it still doesn't make up for the times Clare just wanted to talk with her mother about anything and Helen would dismiss her because of Glen. Or the time when Helen made Clare walk in the freezing rain because she was having a special lunch at Little Miss Steaks with Glen.

Just thinking about that and everything else boiled her blood even more. She sat on the lid of the toilet and dropped her head into her hands.

Clare heard three subtle knocks and a voice travel from the other side of the door.

"Clare, can I come in?" It was Eli's concerned voice.

She took a deep breath, but no reply.

The doorknob turned and Eli slowly entered the bathroom.

"Everything alright?" Eli stood with his hands tucked away in his back pockets. "I kind of overheard what happened."

"Great." She groaned.

"It doesn't really bother me. I didn't come here for anyone else but you." Eli shrugged. "But, I sense that there's more behind your anger than a silly little argument."

Eli kneeled down next to Clare and made her look into his eyes. He confidently grabbed her hand and persuaded her with a gentle squeeze full of trust to talk about it. And she did.

It had been a while since Clare was able to vent her feelings to anyone. Even to Adam. Eli did a really good job of listening and understanding Clare. Those therapy sessions offer a lot more than just help for you.

"I'm so sorry about my little temper tantrum." She smiled almost sheepishly after Eli managed to calm her down.

"You're apologizing to the guy who goes insanely mad when his friend beats him on xbox. It's cool." He says so lightly that it's almost as if his calm collected attitude could cast a peace spell anywhere.

Clare giggles lazily and Eli stares intensely at her for a few moments contemplating something in his mind.

"Do you want to go back downstairs?" He asks.

Clare shakes her head. "Let's hang out in my room for a bit." Clare states, standing up.

"What? We're too cool for the Christmas party." He teases, following behind Clare.

"Oh yeah, that's totally it." Clare stuck her tongue out and Eli in retaliation gently tickled her into her bedroom.

She twisted around and held his wrists from tickling her while she laughed. Eli raised his hands in defense notifying her that he's done, but a mischievous smirk still plasters his face.

Clare releases both of Eli's wrists, with a brow raised. "What?" She asks in a way that made her appear almost alluring to Eli.

"Nothing, it's just…this is the first time I've been in your room." He answers.

This is true. Back when Clare and Eli were dating most of their time spent together was usually out and about the streets, Adams place or Eli's place. They'd hung out a few times at Clare's home, but her room was never touched by Eli's eyes or presence so this was sort of special.

For the both of them.

A shy, doleful smile is the only action Clare can demonstrate before turning around nervously. Of course she would be the one to ruin a moment like this, but her heart was tricky.

She walked over to her bed and sat down on the edge as if the distance she put between the two would make things less uncomfortable. But it only made the tension thicker.

"I saw Imogen." Eli attempted to break the curse of silence. "What's she doing here?"

"She's with Jake." Clare replied pretentiously.

Eli guffawed disbelievingly. "You mean they're…" Eli clashed his hands together to ask what his lips couldn't.

Clare confirmed with a nod.

"Woah. How is that possible?" He asked. "Wait…are you jealous?" He countered another question when Clare sat with her arms crossed in silence, her knitted eyebrows giving away her frustration.

Eli walked over to the bed, planting himself right next to Clare.

"I'm not jealous." She answered honestly. "I simply don't trust her intentions."

"That's very smart of you. Imogen's a loyal person, but not towards everyone."

Clare tilted her head confusedly. "Didn't you two date?"

"Yeah. Until I found out I was just an obstacle keeping her and Fiona away from each other. _Romantically_."

Clare snorted, processing this new information. If Imogen was involved with Fiona then why was she here? "Okay…that's a whole other mess I don't want to be involved in, so can we _please_ change the subject?"

Eli erupted in laughter due to Clare's reaction. Eli laughed for about a minute or so and Clare tried to keep a serious straight face but failed and burst into giggles along with Eli. When they were finished, there was a long silent pause in which Eli finally took the opportunity to do what he wanted to do. He reached to his back pocket and pulled out a long black velvet case.

"I got you a gift." He handed her the soft rectangle case. "I wanted to give it to you earlier but I wasn't sure how to."

Clare was stunned with his gesture. Eli was unpredictable sometimes but this was just wonderfully unstable. The box sucked away Clare's breath when cracked open. Eli could see the sparkle of the object reflecting from her shiny watery orbs.

"It's gorgeous, Eli." She gasped

Inside the box was a diamond pendant with a halo, with a round cut center stone accented by micropavé diamonds.

"It belonged to my grandmother. I was saving it to give you on our six month anniversary. Then I realized we weren't going that far so I kept it away."

Clare finally averted her eyes away from the hypnotizing silver jewelry to Eli, still dumbfounded by the wonderful gift.

She didn't want to take this gift from Eli. She couldn't. She didn't think she deserved anything like this from him. Hell, she didn't even get him anything, which made her feel worse.

Eli softly touched Clare's hand. Somehow, he managed to understand Clare's thoughts and gave her a reassuring look, telling her that it was okay. She didn't have to feel guilty or undeserving. He wanted her to have it because he still loved her. He never stopped, and probably never will.

Eli, with his signature smirk, offered to put the necklace around her neck. She gracefully turned around, lifting her hair up to the side and allowed Eli to fasten the pendant. He dropped his hands gently on her shoulders after clipping the necklace in place.

"Merry Christmas." Eli whispered gently in Clare's ear.

His low voice zapped shivers through every last nerve in Clare's body. She tilted her head to the side to look at Eli's gorgeous face and her eyes fell right onto hid full lips. Eli reluctantly leaned in, their lips finally meeting in a soft kiss.

The familiar feeling of each other's lips on one another's was breathtaking. Clare felt secure again and Eli's heart felt hopeful. Nothing could be more perfect.

Eli twisted Clare's body around, and leaned her back slowly, one hand cradling the back of her head and the other floating on her waist. Their kiss began to grow intense since they overcame the hesitance and sheepishness. Now, their mouths became a war field, their tongues were the fearless and relentless soldiers.

Eli's sneaky hands crawled up Clare's thighs, up to the waist band of her stockings. By now, he was already placed between her long legs but neither of them knew, better less understood how they reached such a sexually illicit position.

Clare pulled on Eli's raven locks as he began to attack her neck with lusty bites and licks. Her body began arching up, attempting to get Eli to understand she wanted more. He ignored her very tempting signals. He wanted her to do more than just writhe beneath him. He wanted her to tell him what she wanted.

The full weight of his body dropped on her, rubbing against her sensually as he began kissing her again. After a very elongated amount of time, Eli's erection produced a painful feeling, trapped in his jeans and couldn't keep up his little act of teasing anymore. His fingers roamed under Clare's stockings. Both of their stimulated hearts pounded loudly and their breaths heaved hotly in unison as they waited in anticipation for Eli's next move.

"Clare!"

Eli stopped what he was getting ready to do, and exhaled a huge audible breath of unexpected disappointment.

"You should go see what your mom wants." Eli exhorted, although he really didn't want her to leave so they could continue.

They both composed themselves again, sitting up. Awkward silence polluted the air.

"That was..."

"Intense?" Eli finished for Clare.

She nodded, a blush cascading up around her cheeks.

"But you liked it?"

She shook her head and Eli's face fell.

"I loved it." She smiled, pecking him lusciously on the lips.

Clare got up to go tend for her mother and told Eli she'd be back but, not before Eli pulled her arm before leaving and lingering another kiss upon her lips, dazing Clare. She stumbled a little as she left her room and stood right at the top of the stairs. Her mother stood at the bottom of the stairs waiting.

"Clare, sweetie do you mind getting my good camera from my room? It's in the top left drawer of my dresser."

Clare mentally rolled her eyes. She did mind, but she wasn't going to say that. Her mother was using a respectful tone, and assumed that she got over their argument so she might as well too. Although, another part of her wanted to ignore her because she interrupted something with Eli and she was a little sexually frustrated now.

Clare entered her mother's bedroom, and searched the drawer her mother instructed her to look in. The camera was nowhere to be found, so she checked the opposite drawer, incase Helen was mistaken.

Instead of finding her mother's expensive, professional camera, Clare found something else that was so much more important than a stupid camera. This other discovery she made, rummaging through her mother's belongings shook Clare's emotions with rage, confusion, and even betrayal.

She picked up both envelopes, stomped out of the room, down the hallway and downstairs into the guest-infected living room. She quickly found her mother and stormed over to her, her hands shaking.

"Should I demand an explanation or are you going to come up with some invalid excuse as to why you didn't tell me you took these?" Clare spat bitterly in a tone she'd usually never use with her own mom.

Helen quickly realized what was in Clare's hands. In her hands were both letters Clare sent – well attempted to send – to her father and Darcy, inviting them to the Christmas party. Helen had found them in the mailbox, took them, and hid them from Clare.

"Clare." Helen stuttered. "I…had no idea that those were the invitations."

Clare scoffed disbelievingly, not buying a word coming from her mother's mouth. "Save it, mom." She couldn't believe that her mom was attempting to lie straight to her face, and she wasn't even doing a good job of it either.

"Don't worry. I won't ruin your little party with my dramatic outbursts." She said lowly, noticing her mom nervously looking around at the guests. She was going to at least respect her mom in this area. "But I am _not_ spending Christmas here."

Clare walked away and grabbed her coat. Eli probably heard Clare's audible thumps when she practically flew down the hallways and followed her knowingly because he was standing by the stairs.

"Am I missing something?" Eli asked, watching Clare button up her winter coat.

"I just need to get the hell away from here."

"We can go to my place if you'd like." Eli offered.

* * *

><p>On their slow and chilling walk to Eli's house, Clare explained to Eli what had happened. Eli's opinion on the situation was that Clare had all he right in the world to be upset. Her mother had no real reason to have taken those letters and hid them from Clare. Her father's letter didn't really bother her but; Clare was hoping Darcy's invitation would reunite her with her sister again for Christmas.<p>

They were now in Eli's warm home. Cece and Bullfrog were surprised to see Eli bring home Clare, but were nonetheless happy with her company. They welcomed her with open arms and very big hugs.

"Your parents never change." Clare giggled as Eli's parents exited the living room and went back into the kitchen.

"Gotta love em'" His reply reeked sarcasm.

In that moment, Cece poked her head in and invited both teenagers into the kitchen. Cece had cooked dinner and set one extra plate at the table for Clare.

Clare was spending Christmas with the Goldsworthy's and surprisingly, she didn't mind. She had an extravagantly delicious home cooked meal, she baked delicious gingerbread cookies with Cece and Eli, and played a competitive, guys against girls, game of Christmas Carol Drawing Charades. Clare and Cece won by a landslide. At least that's what the guys wanted to believe. They just failed miserably at drawing.

Clare had long forgotten about her problems with her mother, and the frown on her face from earlier was no longer.

It was already almost eleven in the evening. Clare helped clean up before Cece and Bullfrog left and locked themselves in their bedroom.

The living room was dim, and the only source of light came from two scented candles and the flickering Christmas lights on the Goldsworthy's red Christmas tree.

Eli walked out of the kitchen nibbling on one of the gingerbread cookies, and plopped himself on the couch right next to Clare, swinging his arms over her shoulders.

"Could you chew a little less obnoxiously?"

"Nom nom nom." Eli mocked in Clare's face teasingly and she pushed him away lightly.

Eli brought the cookie up to Clare's pink lips offering her a bite and she gladly bit off a small chunk.

"Feeling better?" Eli took another bite from his cookie.

"That isn't even a question." Clare used her thumb to brush away some crumbs from Eli's chin. "I feel great. And it's all thanks to you." Clare smiled, laying her head on his shoulder.

A smirk curled upon Eli's lips satisfyingly, and he finished eating his cookie. He glanced at Clare to find that she'd dozed off. The image of her resting peacefully warmed his heart. He was dreaming out loud.

"Hey." Eli whispered carefully against her blossom scented hair.

"Hm." She mumbled groggily.

"Let's go upstairs." Eli instantly regretted his words. He didn't want to make it seem like he wanted to get her into his bed. He actually did want her in his bed, but not in that way.

Clare's nod of agreement had sent an immediate flash of relief through Eli. He helped her up, and he led her upstairs into the hallway.

Through her sleepy eyes and drowsy mood, Clare felt a dose of dejavu of last year all over again while heading towards Eli's room. A lock no longer possessed his door and he pushed the door open. He initiated his walk into the room but was brought to a halt by Clare who was leaning against the threshold of the door.

Her eyes moved upward and Eli followed them confusedly, looking up.

"You know the rules about mistletoes, don't you?" Clare raised a challenging eyebrow.

Eli smirked in response and grabbed her roughly by the waist and pressed his lips over hers. Her hands rested on his considerably chiseled chest. They stood under the mistletoe in his bedroom doorway for a few moments, relishing in their sweet kiss.

"Why exactly is there a mistletoe hanging from your bedroom door?" Clare quirked an eyebrow as she pulled away from the kiss.

"Why else? For all of the girls that come in and out of my bedroom." Eli joked.

Clare rolled her eyes playfully. "Seriously. Did you know I was coming?"

Eli held Clare's bright blue eyes in a loving gaze, his forehead stuck to hers. "Seriously, if you haven't noticed, there are mistletoes all over the doors of this house. Cece and Bullfrog like to get _extra _affectionate on the holidays."

"So they put one on your door?" Clare asked, the idea of it a bit lewd.

Eli shrugged. "My parents aren't normal." He chuckled. "I just have to ask…are you staying the night?"

"Only if it isn't a problem."

"Of course it isn't." Eli answered quickly. "I just want to make sure you're okay with it."

Clare smiled warmly. One of the many things she loved about Eli was how he always worried about her and never wanted to make her feel uncomfortable.

Eli lent Clare one of his large t-shirts and a pair of his sweats. She folded her clothes and placed them neatly on Eli's desk where his laptop was. She crawled under his blankets and waited for Eli to change. Once he was only in a pair of his own sweats, he shut off the light, climbed into bed with Clare, and pulled her into his chest.

There was no chitchat, no playful banter, no anything but snuggling and their gentle evened breaths.

After an extensive period of time, Clare giggled to the sound of what she revealed were snores. Eli wasn't wheezing obnoxiously loud though. Clare thought it was sort of cute on her boyfriend.

_Boyfriend_

It just now hit her that she kissed Eli, practically had sex with him and now she was lying in bed with him and he wasn't even her boyfriend. Sure, in the beginning when she had her casual thing with Jake it was alright, but nothing can ever be just "casual" with Eli, even for one day. She only hoped that they would have a conversation about where they stand tomorrow. She only hoped he wanted what she wanted.

They had already spoken about their break up when Adam forced them to work things out because he was tired of being in between the both of them. She apologized for abandoning him at his worst, for bursting out in flames at above the dot, and for generally hurting him. Eli said he understood because it was her first serious relationship and he had done similar but worse things during his relationship with Julia. He forgave her, and that was the only thing Clare needed.

Eli shook Clare away from her thoughts when he stirred in his sleep. She watched him wiggle around until he was still again and laid her head back onto his warm chest. She shut her eyes and allowed her dainty little fingers to scribble mindless shaped around his naked abdomen.

His muscles twitched under her innocent contact and she continued to venture her fingers lower, unintentionally teasing the area right above the elastic of his boxers.

"_Clare_…" Eli croaked painfully.

At first she didn't understand and wondered why he had called out her name, until she felt something very hard against her leg when Eli turned to his hide, snatching her hand away from his body.

"Unless you want to pick up from where we left off, I suggest you keep your hands away from down there." His voice was laced with an overly heavy amount of dark lust it practically turned Clare on. She's gotten somewhat intimate with a boy before but, it never got to the level of sex, and it never got past the touching of some skin under the clothes. But, It always made her wonder what other things could be done

She swallowed hard and boldly brought her hands lightly over his erection, giving him a gentle squeeze. "What if I don't want to keep my hands off of you?" She purred.

That's all it took for Eli to pull her on top of him. Clare gasped at Eli's eager abruptness. Their lips clashed desperately as if they were dying of thirst and they were each other's source of water.

He groaned deliciously as he gripped her hips and swept her body domineeringly over his torso. He sucked on her bottom lip lusciously, and sat up with her straddling his lap. Clare lightly glided her finger nails over Eli's face, wanting him to get as close as he could to her. He gripped and squeezed her butt through her sweats and decided that she had on too much clothing for his taste.

He pulled Clare's shirt over her head, and helped her out of her sweats. Their position continued in an upright position as their kisses grew less violent, and increased in gradual, lustful kisses. Everything was slowed down, and it made the room blaze with heat.

He retracted from Clare's lips and allowed his wet tongue to spiral from her sensitive ear, down to her neck, chest and finally trace the cup line of her bra around her breasts. Her fingers tangled in his hair the moment she arched her back, allowing Eli more access to work his magic on her perky chest.

Elis hands moved from the gorgeous calves that imprisoned him, to the sexy thighs that mounted around him. He braced them and hoisted her up with great balance, and flipped her over.

She tried to put her arms around his neck, but he held them back, wrapping his large hands around her small wrists. He fell to his side, no longer over her body. His hands, with no hesitance met the hem of her underwear.

Eli brought his lips near her ear for a simple question, which Clare answered with a simple "mhm."

Clare hissed in pleasure at the contact of Eli's fingers against her wet flesh. His finger whirled and rubbed lightly in unison with Clare's propelling body. The feeling was something magical to Clare. Eli played with her clit like a pro, making sure to add enough pressure to her throbbing pink bud. She dragged her nails harshly against Eli's chest, trying to find something to cling onto. She was boiling. Eli's brutal breaths were caught up in Clare's ear as he whispered dirty things to her, asking if she liked it, telling her she was beautiful and sexy when he rubbed her.

Eli felt Clare's body shaking and he knew she was reaching her climax so he pulled away leaving Clare frustrated. Eli got up on his knees and pulled off his sweats. He crawled in between Clare's legs, filling her inner thighs from top to bottom with love bites.

Eli took it into his hands to discard Clare's underwear, and throw them god knows where. He crawled back up to Clare's lips and attempted to kiss her, but Clare put her hand over his chest.

"Can you take them off please?" She asked shyly. She didn't want the fabric to make her bare area feel uncomfortable.

Eli took them off, and resumed back to her lips, slipping his tongue in and out of Clare's mouth in harmony with his hips. He easily massaged himself in between her folds, her essence, due to the intense foreplay, acting as a lubricant. She locked her arms around his neck, and tilted him over to the side, still holding on to him, never wanting to let go.

He fell onto his back yet again, as they rolled over. Her very loose hips bestowed pleasurable strokes from her area over Eli's erection.

Their bodies began picking up pace as their genitals pleasured one another. The feeling was so intense that Eli began feeling a familiar feeling he hasn't felt in a long time and he knew he would finish quick. His head fell back against the pillows and let Clare's beautiful body get him off.

"Oh god." Eli blew out tiredly, his eyes rolled to the back of his head. Clare thought it was one of Eli's most gorgeous facial expressions and it satisfied her seeing him this way. She leaned over, ghosting his juicy lips and brushing his wet hair from his sweaty forehead.

"Merry Christmas." She giggled cutely before jumping off of him to his side. She picked up a random piece of clothing off of the ground and handed it to Eli to wipe away his aftermath.

"You're all worn out." Clare mirrored Eli's signature smirk, and even though he couldn't see it in the dark, he still knew her ego was gloating. Eli was _not _about to let Clare feel like some kind of sex goddess.

That was _his_ job.

Eli pushed himself lower and the bad and grabbed Clare to straddle him again. He squeezed the back of her thighs and pushed her closer to his face. Clare was a little shy being in a very provocative position, but Eli erased any kind of reluctant emotion from Clare once his tongue escaped his cavern and assaulted her wet flesh.

Clare's head instantly flew back. This angle intensified the feeling, and Eli wanted to start Clare off with excessive bliss. With his teeth, he gently nipped her sensitive flesh and Clare had to suppress a load moan in her throat. If they could hear Cece ad Bullfrog during their rendezvous, they sure as hell would be able to hear her. And Clare did _not_ want that.

She was already thrusting desperately against his large and phenomenal tongue. She felt so close to the edge that she so badly wanted to be pushed over.

Just then, Eli suddenly stopped, and in a few swift movements Clare was on her back again and his weight was shifted to the side. He coaxed her body against his. He lingered his lips over Clare's in a teasing manner, and let his nose glide down and nuzzle the hollow of her neck. His plump, soft lips stroked her neck. He traveled lower, making sure to lick where her ribcage would be.

He tickled her sides with his soft muscle as his hands grabbed and fondled anything he could get his hands on, to get her to squirm and writhe under his touch.

He reached her bare hip bone, and traced a line across her torso with his tongue, leaving a trail of his gleaming nature. Eli carefully spread her legs as wide as he could and kissed her dripping sex. Over and over again, he pecked, kissed and sucked on her clit in torment.

His eyes rolled up to look at Clare's long body, her head tossed back in utter pleasure, her perfect chest heaving harshly. He finally decided to stick his tongue out and flick repeatedly over her sensitive bud. He brought two of his finger in a V-shape to spread her folds and get better coverage. He left no area un-licked.

Clare couldn't believe a tongue could be so succulent and have so much vigor to have her using up so much of her energy. It felt like there were over five hundred violent and sweet tricks being used down there.

"Jesus Eli!" She gasped, feeling her insides merge in anticipating heat.

His eyes drooped closed at the amazing sounds he drew from her seemingly innocent lips. He let his tongue hang out, and Clare's hips began doing the work, pushing herself back and forth against Eli's smooth and sensational tongue.

Eli pushed Clare's hips up in a five degree angle for more astounding pleasure. He drew in a sharp breath, sucking in Clare's flesh with him. Clare's arms thrashed out, scrunching the sheets in her balled up fists while her body quivered and shook. Multiple orgasms coursed through her while Eli held his mouth in place, still sucking on her clit.

After a few more seconds of watching her impassioned orgasm, he unlatched his tongue, and made his way up to Clare's sweaty figure. He kissed her sweaty forehead, while Clare was practically delusional, basking in the aftermath.

"You look exhausted." Eli mocked Clare from earlier.

Her mouth fell open, but she was incoherent. Practically speechless, and she burst out in giggles.

"That. Was. Fucking. Brilliant."

Eli chuckled deeply as his eyes widened at Clare's unusually use of vulgar language. He pulled the blankets over both of them and they returned to the same position they were in when they first got into bed.

* * *

><p>"Ahhhhh! No fair! My fort isn't even up!" Clare squealed running away.<p>

"I gave you one minute to find cover!" Eli shouted, chucking another snowball at Clare.

They were in Eli's back yard which was drowned in plush white snow. They had woken up with no intention of doing anything today, but after eating breakfast, Clare came up with the idea to play in the snow. Eli thought he was too old for such activities but agreed to do so just for Clare.

Now, the joke was on Clare.

"Eli!" Clare yelled in laughter when he threw two more snowballs at Clare, one of them missing her.

"I like when you scream my name." He shouted.

Clare's eyes popped. "Shut up!" She hit Eli right in the face with a snowball.

Clare covered her mouth with both hands, trying to repress her giggles. "Sorry! Are you okay?"

Eli wiped his face, to reveal a mischievous smirk playing at his lips.

"Eli…"

He charged at her and Clare attempted to out run Eli, but the deep snow only made her slower. Eli tackled Clare and they both fell into a trance of hysterical guffaw.

"You suck!" Clare stuck her tongue out and Eli bit it.

"Hey! You socked me dead in the face. I say this punishment was fair." Eli retorted facetiously.

"Yeah, yeah. Just get off of me! I'm freezing."

"Well why didn't you just say so." Eli's breathe tickled Clare's face. "We both know very well that I can easily warm you up."

Clare perked up a summoning brow. "Well then. Take the lead."

* * *

><p><strong>It's been a long fucking time since I've written something like this. I hope it isn't as bad as I think it is. If the smut sucked then whatever lol.<strong>

**ATTENTION: I'd like to address my Blessed Roads fic. NO I am not abandoning that story. I actually have three pages of the next chapter written. I just haven't been able to continue you because I've been so busy with school. My Junior year is really time consuming.**

**Reviews**** would be lovely. If you guys like this, I can write shorter one-shots to keep you guys entertained until I update my story. If not then I will not write any more of these smutty one-shots.**


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